New Spirit Samurai
by chaosthesith89
Summary: The Yondaime splits the Kyuubi into it's power and soul, giving each to his daughter and son respectively. However, this in term sets events in motion that no one could have forseen. Naruto/Harem, several crossovers, rating may change later.
1. Prologue: Sealing Alteration

The New Spirit Samurai

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any of the sources I intend to use in this story. They belong to their respective owners, and will receive their shout out when they appear.

"Speech"

'Thought'

"Technique/Jutsu"

"**Demon/Boss Summon Speech**"

"_Deity Speech_"

Prologue: Sealing Alteration

Smoking gouges littered the landscape, dozens if not hundreds of bodies were scattered around in various states of disarray, and the sounds of battle could be heard carrying for miles around. Calls for medical aid and attacks being yelled were among the noise, but the loudest sound of all was the booming, almost god-like roar that was coming from the source of the carnage.

"Hold your positions; don't let it get any closer to the village!" One voice yelled out, while his hands flew through a series of hand-seals, before a large ball of fire launched from his open mouth.

CRASH

Again, the unearthly roar sounded out, before a large red, and surprisingly, fur-coated object smashed into the ground, leaving a giant crevice where it had impacted. One of the lucky few who had been in the area of the impact that had managed to escape the attack, could only stare in shock and fear at the damage done, before turning her head to the source.

"Is this all we can do against the Kyuubi?" The woman asked, before having to dodge out of the way of a large tree that had been uprooted and thrown several hundred yards like a rag-doll.

BOOM

Many of the men and women currently engaged in battle turned their attention to the newest arrival, in the form of a large red toad with a large scar of its left eye. Adorning the toad's body was a blue happi vest, and strapped to his hip was a large dosu blade.

"**So, what's the Nine-Tails doing here?**" The toad's loud voice boomed out, and though he was keeping a constant eye out on the massive fox demon before him, his attention was on the man standing on his forehead.

"No idea, Gamabunta, but as it stands, we have to end this now." The man, who had spiky blonde hair, sky blue eyes, and a short-sleeved white coat with flame-like motifs along the bottom, and the kanji for "Yondaime Hokage" on the back.

"**Right.**" Gamabunta said, while crouching his body downward, before leaping into the air, and crashing down on large red kitsune several hundred yards away.

"**Ah, you blasted frog, get off me!**" The massive fox roared out, while whipping several of its tails around to smash into the toad that was pinning it to the ground. The attack missed, however, when Gamabunta leapt into the air again, and landed on the opposite side of the kitsune from the village that was in the area.

"Bunta, just try and buy me some time." The blonde on Gamabunta's head called out, before he disappeared in a flash of yellow, leaving the toad to stall the fox.

"**You owe me big time for this one, Minato.**" Gamabunta said, more to himself than anyone else, before pulling his blade from its sheathe, and brandishing it in front of his body.

(Atop the Hokage Monument)

"Are the preparations ready?" Minato asked, after appearing a flash of yellow atop the mountain.

"It has been set up as you requested, Yondaime-sama." A single figure, dressed in standard ANBU attire responded, they only major feature about him being the porcelain mask on his face, which was reminiscent of a dog.

"And how is Kushina?" Minato asked, while checking over the arrangements one more time.

"She's expanded much of her energy during childbirth, but she's alive and resting in Konoha Hospital." The Inu ANBU responded. "It was very lucky that Tsunade-sama was here, otherwise, things could have gone very badly."

"Yes, I must remember to thank Tsunade for her help when this is done." Minato responded, before taking his spot, which was directly in between the two baskets, each one holding a newborn child. The one to Minato's left held a girl, who had deep red hair, while the one to Minato's right had a boy with bright yellow hair.

"Minato-sensei, are you sure this is the best course of action?" Inu asked, while glancing nervously at the sealing array on the ground that the Yondaime was standing in.

"Kakashi, you wouldn't be questioning the orders of your Hokage, would you?" Minato asked, while glancing coldly at the man, who quickly bowed his head in submission.

"Of course not, Yondaime-sama, I was just curious as to why you would choose this particular sealing method to remove the threat of the Kyuubi no Kitsune." Kakashi responded, while his whole body trembled in fear of what could happen to him if his former sensei decided to act on his unspoken threat.

"I figured I'd give Konoha a special ace in the hole for a later date." Minato responded, before his hands flashed through several hand-seals, before clapping his hands together. Almost instantly, a ghostly figure appeared towering over Minato, who stood standing before the spectral being, while Kakashi was backing away, shivering in fear.

"_Mortal, why have you summoned me_?" The being asked, while staring down at Minato.

"Shinigami-sama, I request that you seal the power of the Kyuubi no Kitsune into my daughter, Natsuki, and the soul into my son, Naruto." Minato called out, while the ghostly figure glanced first at the Yondaime Hokage, then to the Kyuubi no Kitsune in the distance, still engaging Gamabunta in battle.

"_Very well. I am bound by code to follow your request._" The Shinigami said, before raising its left arm toward the Kyuubi, before the limb grew in length, growing until it struck the massive red kitsune in the side. Too late, the Kyuubi turned its head to see what had tried attacking it, only for its giant eyes to widen in surprise at the sight of the Shinigami.

"**Shi…Shinigami-sama, what are you doing here?**" The Kyuubi asked, before feeling a icy chill reach down to its very core.

"_I'm fulfilling my agreement with this mortal._" The Shinigami responded, as it applied more strength, and soon an ethereal red energy was pulled from the Kyuubi's body, and back to the Shinigami's waiting grasp.

After several minutes passed and the energy had been fully removed from the Kyuubi, the Shinigami flared its own power, before beginning to draw the orb from the center. Pulling its hands away from each other, the Shinigami\ soon held up two orbs, one significantly larger than the other, but the smaller one was a more potent red color. Taking the larger orb, the Shinigami let it flow into the young girl body, where it coalesced into a seal design on her stomach. Holding the smaller orb for a moment, the Shinigami let loose a breath, a small string of power flowing into the orb. For a split-second, the orb became pitch-black with a small red outline, before resuming its normal crimson red color. Turning over its hand, the Shinigami then let the orb fall toward the baby boy, where it was absorbed into a seal on its stomach, the same kind that was on the girl.

"_It is done._" The Shinigami said, before turning its steely gaze to Minato. "_Because of the altered seal you used, I'll spare you on this day._" The deity spoke, while Minato smirked at his own ingenuity. The smirk vanished, though, with the Shinigami's next words. "_However, that doesn't free you from the obligations of summoning me to this plane. I will have your soul, rest assured of that, but it won't be through my hands that you perish._"

And with those words, the Shinigami vanished, leaving behind nothing to show he had been there, save for the two glowing seals, one on each baby. A split-second later, Minato hissed in pain, before dropping to his knees, while clutching his stomach. Lifting his shirt, Minato was shocked to see a seal suddenly appear on his stomach as well, though this one was a double circle with the kanji for 'Death' in the center of it.

"Minato-sensei, what did the Shinigami mean?" Kakashi asked, after rushing to his sensei's side.

"I don't know Kakashi, but I don't think it's something I'll need to worry about." Minato responded, before standing to his feet. A moment after returning to his feet, the Yondaime soon noticed the seal slowly begin to fade away, until it vanished all together.

"If you're sure, Minato-sensei." Kakashi said, before turning his gaze back to the two children on the mountaintop with them. "What should be done with the twins?"

"Take them back to the hospital and have Tsunade check their conditions. Once that is done, return them to the Namikaze estates. After that, call an emergency meeting for the Konoha council, high-priority." Minato said, while smirking to himself.

"As you command, Hokage-sama." Kakashi said, before he vanished in a swirl of leaves. After Kakashi had left, Minato turned his gaze back to the village, where he saw many of the surviving shinobi and kunoichi were returning, some with the help of others.

'Shinigami, you may have marked me for death, but it won't come by an enemy.' Minato thought, his eyes turning to the sky where he believed the deity was residing now. 'I'll make sure I die of old age, just to deny you the chance at my soul for as long as possible.'

Little did Minato know, that as he did his little mental monologue, the scroll in his pocket was glowing a slight black color. By the time he even noticed something was off, he would be cursing his luck, since the scroll, which was the summoning contract to the Shinigami, had faded, leaving nothing behind but an ancient roll of paper.

(Otherworld, Council of the Gods)

"Shinigam-dono, would you be so kind to explain to us why you vanished from your post for that short time?" A powerful voice said, belonging to a figure that could best be described as female, while the immaculate robes the figure wore seemed glow with an otherworldly light.

"It would seem a mortal somehow managed to retrieve the last summoning contract to bring me to the mortal world." The God of Death responded, while noticing the two other figures stiffened slightly. "As it stands, Kami-dono, thanks to a technicality this mortal found, I was unable to take his soul, but I did find something that bears good news." The deity of death said which caused the other three beings around him to regard him with curious gazes. "It seems, that someone worthy of wielding the powers of a very special Shinigami has reappeared in this world."

"That is interesting news." Another figure, this one sounding female as well, while her robes gave off an even darker presence than the Shinigami's did.

"Yes, I've taken the liberty of setting this boys power on the path to awaken in the near future, and I'm very sure an old acquaintance of mine will help this along." The Shinigami continued, while the other beings there gave him knowing looks.

"And the contract left in the mortal world?" The third being, this one female as well, while her robes were giving off a soft, almost alive feeling.

"It was the last one left in the mortal realm, and I've already removed its power from existence." Shinigami responded, while the other three gave nods in recognition. "Now, I believe we have a meeting to begin. Tozi-dono, you and Yami-dono were informing myself and Kami-dono about something to do with Kyuu no Bijuu?"

**And, Cut.**

**Alright, first installment done. I know it's not long, but it's only a prologue. Also, this is just a test of if this story will do well or not. Let me know through reviews what you think of it.**

**Also, yes, I know that some authors have done the concept of Naruto having the soul of Kyuubi, while his sister has the power, but I've been contemplating this idea since before I even knew those stories existed. So, I would give credit to the first person who designed the story idea, if I knew who did it first, so I'll just say I'm using the concept like many other writers will do.**

**Okay, until next time, Read and Review.**


	2. Treachery and Teachings

The New Spirit Samurai

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any of the sources I intend to use in this story. They belong to their respective owners, and will receive their shout out when they appear.

"Speech"

'Thought'

"Technique/Jutsu"

"**Demon/Boss Summon Speech**"

"_Deity Speech_"

Chapter 1: Treachery and Teachings

Four years had passed by since the Yondaime Hokage had saved the village of Konohagakure no Sato from the Kyuubi no Kitsune. Since that time, the village had been progressing smoothly on its way to rebuilding from the damage it had been dealt. New ninja continued to enter the academy, and with each year, a new batch of shinobi and kunoichi were produced to protect and serve the village.

However, there were some lingering traces of the Kyuubi attack on the village, namely the continued hatred of the Kitsune, even if the creature was gone. After Minato's short meeting with the councils, where he outlined his plan to them about the sealing of the Kyuubi, Minato had called the villagers to the city square. It was there he revealed the truth of his victory over the Kyuubi, telling them of the split the Shinigami had performed, and the placement of the power and soul into Natsuki and Naruto respectively.

Also, Minato failed to inform them that even if the Kyuubi's soul was inside Naruto, it didn't make Naruto the Kyuubi no Kitsune. As such, most of the village populous began calling for Naruto's blood, believing the boy to the reincarnation of the near destroyer. Minato had done nothing to stem their calls, simply because he was happy they weren't calling for his daughter's blood. And so it was, for the next four years, Naruto's existence was made a living nightmare thanks to many ninja and civilians of the village. His only saving grace was that of his mother, Kushina, and Kushina's friends, Inuzuka Tsume and Uchiha Mikoto.

"Yondaime-sama, we have the representative from Kumogakure no Sato at the gates." Minato suddenly heard, drawing his attention away from the papers on his desk. Even after all the years he had spent in office, there was one enemy that the Yondaime Hokage had failed to defeat: paperwork.

"Ah, alright, escort him here immediately." Minato replied, while stamping the documents at a rapid pace, hoping to avoid looking like he was behind on his work in front of a visiting dignitary.

(Several moments later)

"Honored Yondaime-dono, on behalf of my Raikage-sama, I thank you for agreeing to the peace treaty between our two mighty villages." A man with tanned skin, short white hair, and a headband with Kumo's symbol stamped on it said, while bowing to Minato, who returned the bow, albeit not as deeply. "And I also thank you for allowing shelter for myself and my entourage."

"It's no trouble; it's nothing that your village wouldn't have done in the case of a visiting dignitary from our village." Minato returned, while smirking at the ambassador before him. "I trust you have the necessary documents to complete this agreement and solidify our treaty?"

"Yes, right here." The ambassador responded, while pulling out several sheaves of paper from his pouch, before placing on the Yondaime Hokage's desk. "After signing the appropriate places on these documents, the pre-arranged agreement between our two villages will be officially declared."

"Very well then." Minato said, while signing the specified areas, before applying his seal of approval, which declared peace between Konoha and Kumo. Surprisingly, as he was finishing signing the papers, Minato never noticed a smirk on the ambassador's face.

'Once this is done here, I'll begin the second mission that Raikage-sama gave to me before I left the village.' The ambassador thought, remembering his meeting with his village's leader before leaving the village to deliver the peace treaty.

(Flashback)

"_You summoned for me, Raikage-sama?"_

"_Yes, I have the documents for the Yondaime Hokage to sign that will officially begin our peace agreement." The Raikage of Kumo, A, a large, muscular man, with equally dark brown skin and a short white beard said, while pushing several sheaves of paper on his desk to the ambassador, while his other hand was busy lifting the large dumbbell that was used as a paperweight at other times._

"_With all due respect, Raikage-sama, are you absolutely sure it's a good idea to have this agreement with Konoha?" The ambassador hazard to ask his leader. "The reports coming in about that village are less than likable, and I can't help but thinking that maybe we shouldn't be making any deals with them."_

"_You're right, we shouldn't." The Raikage responded, garnering a confused stare from the ambassador. "Which is why we aren't…at least, in real terms."_

"_I don't follow."_

"_It's rather simple." A responded, while smirking knowingly at his subordinate. "I've read several reports about Konoha and their inner dealings. The part that concerns the most is the treatment of their Jinchuuriki, so that will be your main concern on this mission."_

"_You want me to acquire their Jinchuuriki?" The ambassador questioned._

"_Yes, use some of the other shinobi that will be with you to cause a distraction, while you find their Jinchuuriki and bring him to Kumo. What information we've been able to attain about the specific target is in that file as well, so I want you to take extra care with that." The Raikage elaborated, while his ambassador nodded his head in understanding. "The shinobi that will create the distraction to keep Konoha's ANBU off of you have no idea what this is about, so you and I alone will know the truth behind this. If something does go wrong, you know what must be done."_

"_Hai, Raikage-sama." The ambassador responded, while bowing to his leader and turning to leave the office._

_(Flashback End)_

It had been common knowledge of what the Yondaime had done with his children, allowing one to hold the power of a Tailed Beast and being seen as a hero, while forcing another to hold the soul and live a life as the village's pariah. Granted, some Jinchuriki were treated very badly, the one belonging to Takigakure, the one in Sunagakure, and the two in Iwagakure being prime examples, but there were different cases. The two in Kumogakure, who were related to the Raikage, his brother and niece for the Eight-Tailed container and Two-Tailed Container respectively, were treated reasonably well, while one from Kirigakure was actually their Mizukage. As such, the Raikage, A, being one of the few people in the world that disliked the foul treatment of Jinchuriki, had no problems with trying to remove one from a negative environment.

'Raikage-sama, I'll do the best I can to remove the target from this place.' The ambassador thought, before noticing that the Yondaime Hokage had finished signing the rest of the documents.

"I believe that was all the paperwork?" Minato asked, to which the ambassador nodded his head in confirmation, while taking back the papers.

"Hai." The ambassador said, while placing the papers back into his travel pouch, before withdrawing another sheaf of papers. "These documents are the copy of our new alliance agreement that Konoha had sent, which has been gone over by Raikage-sama and the Council of Kumo. I believe that what was disagreed with has been marked with a notice symbol, and the Raikage has sent along a possible alteration to certain points in the agreement."

Minato felt a scowl cross his face, but it was there for only a brief second, before it was replaced with his standard negotiation look. The Yondaime Hokage knew what the ambassador had been talking about; he, along with several members of the council, had been planning on using the alliance with Kumo to milk the other village for what they could. Sadly, it seemed that the Raikage, as well as his council, were a little more aware to what was being planned than Minato had given them credit for.

"Very well, I'll inform my council of this, and we'll have a meeting set up for tomorrow morning, which allow us to go over the changes and come to a possible agreement." Minato said, while taking the papers and scanning over them, while feeling himself mentally grimace at what the Raikage had noticed and requested to change. "That should allow you and your entourage to leave sometime in the afternoon, and make it back to Kumo by the next evening."

(I'm going out on a limb here, and guessing that since their group is mainly shinobi, they can travel from Konoha to Kumo in that amount of time. I know it took Naruto's group about a day or so to travel to Suna, and that seems to be around the same distance it would be to Kumo.)

'That means I'll have to take care of my assigned task tonight, and hope that no one notices the boy is missing.' The ambassador thought, while nodding his head in understanding of the Hokage's words.

(Later that night)

"Kushina-chan, I'm home." Minato called out, after shutting the door to the Namikaze estates main house. Walking toward the kitchen, he saw his wife, Kushina, working on their dinner, before she turned around to greet her husband.

"Minato-kun, glad to have you home." Kushina responded, while hugging her husband, and getting a peck on the cheek from him. Over since the day that Minato had used their two children in the sealing ceremony to save Konoha, Kushina had grown a little jaded of Minato, but she still tried to love him despite his tolerance of the village's stupidity.

"Where are the kids?" Minato asked.

'Meaning 'Where's Natsuki?'" Kushina thought, while internally scowling at Minato for his favoritism, something she knew he hated when it came to ninja teams, but he would personally have when it came to their children.

"Naruto's outside in the yard, and Natsuki is in her room." Kushina responded, but she noticed Minato's gaze instantly turned curious at her words.

"Why is Natsuki in her room?" Minato asked.

"A little after lunch, Naruto asked me if I could give him some Kenjutsu lessons, which I was happy to do. Natsuki instantly jumped in asking form them as well, so I let them both have the lessons. But, after a little while, Natsuki threw a temper tantrum because she claimed the exercises I was giving them were too hard, while Naruto was having an easy time keeping up. So, Natsuki decided to take Naruto's training sword and throw it in the pond, before laughing about it, so I sent her to her room to think about what she did." Kushina replied, while seeing Minato's face become a little angered by that.

"Kushina-chan, don't you think you should be a little easier on our daughter? I'm sure she was just doing it to play with Naruto." Minato suggested, to his wife, who just turned her back and returned to working on their dinner.

"Personally, no, I don't think I was too hard on her. I don't like the idea that when our daughter sees our son doing better at something than her, she gets mad and sabotages his work." Kushina said, and since her back was to Minato, she never saw the angered glare he directed at her, which went unnoticed since Minato never used any KI.

"Maybe, but I don't think we should be only letting one of our children do something while the other one doesn't." Minato said, his tone giving off the idea that he didn't want an argument.

"Minato-kun, I tried teaching both of our children some remedial Kenjutsu, and Natsuki just doesn't have the patience for it, while Naruto does. I don't see what the problem is with teaching one of them something, when the other had no focus to learn the same lessons." Kushina responded.

Minato went to say something, but he noticed Naruto enter the back door at that time, carrying one of the wooden swords he had always seen Kushina use for practice during their days in the academy. The young boy's blonde hair, which reached just about to his shoulder blades and was tied into a short ponytail, was sporting a fine sheen of sweat, while some dirt was present on his clothes and face. Mentally snarling at this fact, Minato decided to wait until later when the children wouldn't be around to have a discussion with his wife.

"Natsuki-chan, dinner!" Kushina called out, which resulted in a loud rumbling from upstairs, which revealed itself to be a red-headed girl standing just a little shorter than Naruto, while her sky-blue eyes instantly narrowed into a child-like glare when she saw her brother.

(Later that night)

"Kushina-chan, I think that you're starting too early in teaching our children Kenjutsu. I really think you should hold off on it for a few more years." Minato said to her, the two of the now in their room, after having their family dinner and putting the two children to sleep.

"Oh, do you think it's too early for our children to learn Kenjutsu, or are you just mad that when I tried to teach them both, only Naruto took to the lessons?" Kushina shot back, while seeing Minato's eyes narrow slightly.

"I just think that we shouldn't be focusing on teaching Naruto too much." Minato said, which caused Kushina to narrow her eyes dangerously at him. "Natsuki is the one that holds the power of the Kyuubi, so she is the one we should be focusing our efforts on. I'm sure I can find a competent teacher to help Naruto develop into a fine shinobi."

"I don't trust any of your competent shinobi." Kushina replied hotly. "You're 'most trusted' shinobi have tried attacking Naruto on several occasions, and after every single attempt, I've seen the same person out and about as free as could be only a day after each attempt."

"Dear, you're exaggerating." Minato tried to insist, while mentally cursing the fact that his wife had a photographic memory, and also at the fact that she had stopped several of those attacks on Naruto.

"If you honestly believe that, then you are a fool." Kushina snapped, but any reply that Minato could make was instantly silenced by the sudden chirping sound coming from the walls.

"The Security Seals!" Minato realized, while rushing from the room, and towards the direction that Naruto's and Natsuki's rooms were in, Kushina right beside him. A moment later, they arrived at their destinations, and as Kushina saw Minato enter Natsuki's room, she went into Naruto's room, only to gasp when she saw he was no longer in his bed.

"Good, Natsuki-chan is still safe." Minato said, while exiting the young girls room, said girl right beside him, having been woken up by the loud sounds of the seals.

"Minato, Naruto-kun's gone!" Kushina cried out, while she managed to squash her fear and panic, realizing that a panic attack would not help the situation.

"Oh…that's bad." Minato said, while his expression was something akin to slight irritation instead of actual concern.

"Minato…you baka!" Kushina shouted, while rushing from the hallway, and out of the house itself, to search for their missing child, while Minato stayed in his spot, still debating on if he should send out help for his wife.

(Near Konoha's North Gate)

"Hey, where are you taking me?" Naruto cried out, but the sound was muffled by the large hand that was clamped over his mouth.

"Shh, it's alright kid, I'm taking you away from this village." The Kumo ambassador said, while continuously scanning his surroundings, checking to make sure he was as hidden as could be. Now, all he had to do was make it to just a little ways outside the gate, and after meeting up with the secondary team, he could place the boy in their care until his business with Konoha was done.

"Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu: Ryutsuisen!" A new voice called out from in front of the Kumo shinobi, which instantly drew his gaze to the source of it. To late did the shinobi see who was the cause of the voice, before a powerful sword strike smashed him in the head, instantly driving the Kumo shinobi face first into the ground, while Naruto was sent tumbling. "Well, would you be so kind to explain why you are kidnapping that boy?"

Lifting his head from the dirt, the Kumo shinobi finally caught site of the person who had just struck him. It was a man, but his slender build made him look slightly feminine, with long red hair tied into a ponytail, a X shaped scar on his left cheek, and deep violet eyes which were narrowed into a glare that caused the Kumo-nin to flinch. Garbing the man's body was a burgundy colored kimono top, with a white umanori hakama covering his legs, while his feet were covered with white tabi and zori, and strapped to his left hip by an obi was a katana.

"Hey, wait, who are you?" The Kumo shinobi said, while rising to a knee, only to have his attempt to stand interrupted by the unknown figure who placed a hand on the hilt of his sword.

"I won't ask you a third time. Why were you trying to kidnap this boy?" The red-haired man asked, while glaring down at the shinobi before him.

"NARUTO-KUN!" A woman's voice rang out, which soon revealed itself to be Kushina Uzumaki-Namikaze.

"Kaa-san!" Naruto cried out, while rushing toward his mother, who embraced the boy in a hug.

"Kushina?" The red-haired stranger said suddenly, his voice holding a tone of question.

"Huh?" Kushina responded, before turning her gaze to the other figure. "Kenshin-onii-chan!" Kushina said, and while still holding Naruto, gave the now named Kenshin a warm hug, which he managed to return. "What are you doing here? I thought you said you were busy with your travels?" Kushina said, after separating herself from her supposed brother.

"Yes, well, I had some business in this village, and when I entered here, I found this man running towards the gates with that boy." Kenshin said, gesturing first to the still downed Kumo shinobi, then to Naruto.

"Wait, he kidnapped Naruto-kun?" Kushina said, while turning and leveling her gaze at the Kumo nin.

"Wait, wait, wait; let me explain." The Kumo ninja said, while standing to his feet and placing his hands in front of his body in a non-threatening manner.

"What possible excuse could you have for trying to kidnap my son?" Kushina demanded, never noticing that Kenshin's gaze would drift to Naruto ever now and then.

"I…" The Kumo shinobi began, wondering if he should say anything, but when he saw the look that Kenshin was giving him, he decided that giving them an honest answer might be the best idea. "I was on a secondary mission…to take your son with me back to Kumogakure." The Kumo shinobi said, which caused the expected reaction from Kushina, namely her narrowing her eyes in anger.

"Why you-!" She nearly shouted, but a hand on her shoulder from Kenshin caused her to stop her rant before it began.

"Tell us why." Kenshin said, his tone leaving no room for argument.

"It was brought to the attention of Raikage-sama just how poorly that young boy was being treated in this village." The Kumo shinobi said, while gesturing to Naruto. "I had been told by my leader to use the peace treaty as a cover method, to enter Konoha and get your…son out of the village and back to Kumo."

"You were doing this…to help me?" Naruto said, speaking for the first time in this conversation.

"Yes…Raikage-sama's niece and younger brother are both Jinchuriki as well, and naturally, he can't turn a blind eye to a Jinchuriki that's suffering from persecution." The would-be kidnapper said. "I was unaware that he had a family member trying to help him, so I was more than happy to oblige this order and remove the young one from this suffocating area."

Several moments of silence followed this, before Kenshin's head snapped toward his left, his eyes glaring at a seemingly random direction.

"I'm sensing several ninja heading this way, probably to detain you." Kenshin said, while regarding the lone Kumo shinobi. "I suggest you return to your lodgings and pretend that nothing happened here tonight."

"But…what about the boy?" The Kumo shinobi asked, which caused Kushina to rethink her opinion of this person, since he was seemingly putting Naruto's well-being ahead.

"I'll inform them it was a shinobi with no markings to affiliate them with any village, so they won't pin this on anyone." Kushina said, while the Kumo shinobi sighed at that, happy with the knowledge that Kumo would be covered by this. "This way, I can say you were enjoying a short walk when you noticed a disturbance, which turned out to be Kenshin-onii-chan rescuing Naruto."

"Thank you for helping me with this." The Kumo shinobi said, while bowing his head to Kushina and Kenshin. "And, I apologize for trying to take your son from your care."

"You thought he was suffering unjustly here, but your intentions were good." Kenshin said, while nodding his head. "You were simply trying to help Naruto-kun."

Several moments later, ANBU began arriving at the sight.

"Halt! You two…" The lead ANBU, a silver-haired man with an Inu mask, said, while pointing to Kenshin and the Kumo delegate. "You both are under arrest for attempting to kidnap the Yondaime Hokage's son!"

"Oh, glad to see Minato-kun _can_ lead his ninja." Kushina said, her voice layered very heavily with sarcasm. "But, unfortunately, your group won't be arresting anyone tonight." She finished.

"Kushina-san, I'm afraid that we must arrest these two." Inu tried to reason, only to feel himself physically flinch back from the glare that Kenshin was giving him.

"No, you won't, since neither of these two were responsible for Naruto-kun being kidnapped." Kushina replied, while leveling her own glare at the silver-haired ANBU. "The person who did kidnap my son had almost made it to the gate, when my brother Kenshin," Here, Kushina gestured to the person in question, "managed to stop this attempt."

"But that still doesn't explain why the Kumo delegate is here." Inu said, trying to find a fault in their story.

"Ah, it would seem he was going for a small walk to get some air, when he noticed the struggle I was having with Naruto-kun's captor." Kenshin said. "He arrived just as I drove off the would-be kidnapper."

"Did you see any markings on the person? Anything to pinpoint his appearance or affiliation?" Another ANBU, this one with a hawk mask, jumped in.

"No, the person had no village symbols displayed, and their appearance was mostly covered by a black cloak." The Kumo delegate offered. "I'm going out on a limb and guessing they were possibly a missing-nin hoping to kidnap the boy, Naruto I believe, to possibly sell to one of your enemies."

"We'll be doing that investigation, thank you." The Inu masked ANBU shot back hotly, not liking this foreigner was offering suggestions to who their culprit could be.

"You do that." Kushina replied, while internally, she was smirking at a job well done of duping the ANBU. "In the meantime, Naruto-kun, Kenshin-onii-chan and I will be heading back to the Namikaze estates."

"Yes, and I guess I'll be heading back to my own lodgings." The Kumo delegate said, while nodding his head to Kushina, Kenshin, and Naruto. "Namikaze-dono, Naruto-san, Kenshin-san, it's been an honor meeting with you."

"The honor is ours." Kenshin said, while nodding his head in return, while Naruto waved at the Kumo nin, before the four departed to let ANBU work on an investigation that would go nowhere.

(Next Day)

"Kenshin-onii-chan, I can't thank you enough for helping Naruto-kun last night." Kushina said, while pouring some tea for Kenshin, Naruto and herself. Natsuki was out in the backyard, having said she wanted to play rather than listen to the adults talk their boring talk.

"Kushina-chan, for the millionth time, I was happy to help." Kenshin said, before taking a small sip of his tea, and sighing at the taste of it. "Ah…it's been quite a long time since I've been able to taste your tea, and it's still as delicious as I remember."

"Oh, Kenshin-onii-chan, you flatter me." Kushina responded. "Now, I was wondering why you were in Konoha now of all times?"

"I had finished up one of my assignments, when an old acquaintance of mine gave me a visit." Kenshin said, while placing his tea cup back down, and giving Kushina his full attention, though he noticed that Naruto was also listening to his words. "This person told me an interesting story about Konoha, and the Kyuubi attack four years ago." Kenshin continued, while Kushina nodded her head sadly, while looking toward Naruto, who gave her a confused glance. "I take it the young one doesn't know yet?"

"Minato thought it would be a better idea to wait until they were older." Kushina confirmed.

"And let some ignorant civilian, or arrogant shinobi twist the truth to them?" Kenshin said, while Kushina's eyes flew open in surprise at Kenshin's words. "It is the truth, Kushina-chan. I saw how some of the ANBU last night were regarding your son, and I can only guess that the Civilians are the same way, if not worse." Seeing her nod her head, Kenshin then gave her a full stare-down, one she couldn't bring herself to meet. "So, don't you think it's better to tell them before the truth is utterly destroyed?"

"Yes…you're right." Kushina said, as she set her own teacup down, while turning her gaze to her son, who was staring at her with a curious expression on his face. "Naruto-kun, there's something I need to tell you…something that happened four years ago when your tou-san faced the Kyuubi no Kitsune in battle to save the village."

"Didn't tou-san kill the Kyuubi?" Naruto asked, which caused Kushina to nod her head sadly, while Kenshin's expression turned rather angered, but Naruto got the suspicion that it wasn't aimed at any person in the room.

"Not exactly, sochi." Kushina responded. "You see, the Kyuubi, like all the Kyuu no Bijuu, are not like any other living beings on this world. Their bodies are composed mostly of a rather dense kind of energy, called Youki, and that makes it very difficult to destroy them completely, since the Youki allows them regenerate almost instantly from any injury." Kushina explained, while Naruto nodded his head slowly. "So, since it was impossible for your tou-san to kill Kyuubi, he decided to do something different, and that was to seal the Kyuubi away."

"Where did he seal it?" Naruto asked, but he suddenly felt a slightly sinking sensation when his mother continued to gaze at him.

"He sealed it into you and your sister." Kushina explained. "You see, Minato used his skill in Fuinjutsu, which I had a slight hand in helping him learn, to split the Kyuubi's power and soul, and sealed the power into Natsuki, and the soul into you."

"Is…is that why the villagers don't like me?" Naruto asked, while his eyes were wide with shock at what he was hearing.

"Yes." Surprisingly, Kenshin answered that question. "One thing you need to know about humans is that they are very stupid when it comes to anger. They hate the Kyuubi for the destruction it caused to the village, and when they learned its soul resided in you, they thought that they could vent their anger on it through you."

"But…but why me?" Naruto asked, while lowering his head, a few tears escaping his eyes. He was surprised when his mother circled the table and wrapped the young blonde in a warm hug.

"Naruto, I don't fully understand why your tou-san sealed away Kyuubi like he did, but you must know that this doesn't change the fact that you are still my son." Kushina said, while Naruto nodded his head into her shoulder.

"But, that's not the full story." Kenshin said, after giving his sister a few minutes to comfort his distraught nephew. Seeing he had their full attention, Kenshin took a sip of his tea again, before speaking. "What happened that day, which even your father doesn't know about, is that the being he summoned, the Shinigami, decided to impart a small gift onto you, Naruto-kun."

"A…gift?" Naruto repeated in wonder.

"Yes." Kenshin said, while giving Naruto his full attention, and he also noticed that Kushina was listening intently as well. "Kushina, you might not know this, but our clan is actually descended from a very important and powerful individual."

"Our ancestor?" Kushina asked.

"Correct…Our ancestor was a person chosen by Shingami-sama himself to wield his power." Kenshin continued. "This power was known at the time as Reiryoku, and any person who possessed enough of this energy was trained in the ways of the Shinigami's disciples."

"Kenshin, why haven't I heard of this before?" Kushina questioned.

"Because our home country was destroyed before you could learn about it, and you were supposed to be informed of this by Mito-dono before she passed away." Kenshin said. "I can only assume that any time she meant to inform you of this, someone decided to intervene so you wouldn't know." At this point, Kushina remembered that on several occasions, Mito had tried to sit her down and speak with her, but they were always interrupted by an ANBU suddenly appearing and informing one of them that they had been summoned.

"I think I remember her trying to tell me something about our clan, but she never got the chance." Kushina said, while clenching her fists slightly.

"Well, back to what I was saying." Kenshin said, which instantly returned Kushina's attention to her older brother. "As it turned out, thanks to the blessing of Shinigami-sama, this power was passed down from generation to generation. As each new child was born to the Uzumaki clan, they were born with varying levels of Reiryoku, and the ability to gain weapons that were called Zanpakuto."

"Zanpakuto?" Naruto questioned.

"It roughly translates to 'Soul Slayer.'" Kenshin elaborated. "There have been different kinds of Zanpakuto passed down in the Uzumaki clan, as well as the four main branches of combat, called Kido, Hakuda, Hoho, and Zanjutsu. Each of these skills, along with many other potent abilities, have been used by the Uzumaki clan for centuries, well before the founding of any Hidden Village."

"Wow." Naruto exclaimed.

"Indeed." Kenshin replied with a small smirk on his face at the awestruck look on Naruto's face. "As it stand now, the powers of the Uzumaki clan have dwindled over the years, to where our clan can only unlock a fraction of what was possible before." Kenshin continued, instantly gaining Naruto's full attention once again. "I'm very well versed in the ways of the four combat branches, but sadly, my Zanpakuto has never reached the full stages of maturity."

"Maturity? What do you mean?" Kushina asked, wondering what her older brother was referring to.

"I mean that each Zanpakuto is alive." Kenshin explained, causing Naruto and Kushina's eyes to widen in shock. "Each and every Zanpakuto that ever existed is a sentient being, which while entwined with its owner, is also separate from the wielder. Therefore, a Zanpakuto can choose if their wielder is ready and able to wield the ascended levels of strength, called Shikai and Bankai." He took a moment to take another sip of tea to soothe his slightly parched throat, before continuing. "As I said before, over the years, the power of Reiryoku has slowly been dwindling in our clan, and as such, the levels of Shikai and Bankai have been unattainable to most of our clan for a long time."

"But… you said that Naruto-kun was granted a special gift by Shinigami-sama?" Kushina said, remembering how this conversation had begun suddenly. "Does that mean he's different?"

"Yes, he is." Kenshin said, while turning his full attention to Naruto, who was looking up at him with a confused expression. "Naruto, you are a descendant of the founder of the Uzumaki clan, and as such you have the powers of a Shinigami as well. But, unlike those before you, thanks to the direct activities of Shinigami-sama himself, you have the potential to unlock Shikai and Bankai like Shinigami of the past."

"Me?" Naruto asked, while pointing to himself. "I have that kind of ability?"

"Well, not at this moment, but with enough training, you will." Kenshin confirmed. "That is actually the reason I came to this village. I was contacted by Shinigami-sama, informed of this development, and was requested to train you in the ways of the Shinigami."

"Um, Kenshin-onii-chan…" Kushina said, gaining her brothers attention. "Is there anyway form me to gain these abilities as well?"

"Well…" Kenshin began, while studying her, a look akin to pure concentration his face. "I can see that your Reiryoku is still there, buried just beneath the surface. With a bit of training, I do indeed think you could learn these abilities as well."

"And my daughter?" Kushina asked.

"Sadly, no." Kenshin said, which caused Kushina to look at him strangely. "One of the tricks I've learned over the years is the ability to sense Reiryoku and the amounts each person has. Natsuki has Reiryoku, like everyone in the world, but it's being suppressed by the Youki that currently resides in her body, so it's impossible for her to learn how to control that power." Kushina gave a slightly sad expression at this, but internally, she knew her husband would be pushing to have Natsuki trained to used the Kyuubi's power anyways, so it wasn't a major problem, and this way, Naruto would have a trick up his sleeve to help him. "So, with that in mind, I'll be staying in this village for a few years, to help young Naruto-kun learn about his abilities and how to master them."

"Really?" Naruto asked, while giving Kenshin a hopeful look.

"Really." Kenshin responded, causing Naruto to whoop for joy.

"Well, I'm sure that Minato will be happy to know that someone will be teaching Naruto-kun." Kushina said, while noticing Kenshin's scowl. "I know, I'm angry at him for putting Natsuki-chans's training before Naruto-kun's, but this way, it works out for you both."

"Good point." Kenshin conceded. "Well, I guess we can get started today, if you feel up to it Naruto-kun."

"Hai, Kenshin-sensei." Naruto responded happily.

**And, that'll do it.**

**Alright, hope you guys enjoyed this chapter.**


	3. Power To The Writers

The administrators of are as of June 4th going to be taking down Fics that have lemons or have extreme violence. Now I don't know about you but I think thats stupid. There are many wonderful fics that only have one or two lemons in them yet the plot itself is awesome! You can't just take down a 100,000+ word fic just because it has a lemon in a chapter that is only 1000 words long. Now I urge you all to read the petition below, sign it, and repost this to your own fics. Hopefully if we make enough noise everything will return to normal. Thank you.

Greetings to the fine folk that moderate our site.

Myself, along with many, have been writing and posting on your fine site for years now, some of the better examples of up and coming writers out there are now suddenly finding some of the stories we've come to love at risk of being removed without the chance to even rectify our errors.

For some, that means the permanent loss of a story. While I don't have anything that I believe violates your terms of use, there are those out there that are never able to recover a story in its original form, this is something I find to be almost worthy of a legal action, as while we cannot claim ownership of a character, the stories are OURS and simply destroying them is something that is inexcusable.

It's quite easy to simply add an MA rating, additional filters or even a simple requirement for a free membership to read the stories presented here, and would cut down on hateful anonymous reviews and posts at the same time, so I have to question as to why such a thing, in all this time, simply wasn't added.

If you're worried about falsification of a registration then have an appropriate disclaimer and then there can be no dispute, you took your steps and the PARENTS didn't monitor their children, if that is even your concern. If it is more of a personal view or desire then please at least let people know and give them a chance to remove a story that you and yours find offensive, most people on the site are actually rather cordial when it comes to such requests.

While I cannot say for sure if this letter will even reach those that may be willing to listen, of if it's more akin to a wide spectrum purge in preparation for something bigger, please understand that you are going to be looseing a LARGE number of your writers, and thus your income from a lack of readers if there is not some level of action taken to help with this situation.

For those that may agree with this, please feel free to sign on and send this to the support server, maybe we can get some movement on this.

Psudocode_Samurai  
>Rocketman1728<br>dracohalo117  
>VFSNAKE<br>Agato the Venom Host  
>Jay Frost<br>SamCrow  
>Blood Brandy<br>Dusk666  
>Hisea Ori<br>The Dark Graven  
>BlackRevenant<br>Lord Orion Salazar Black  
>Sakusha Saelbu<br>Horocrux  
>socras01<br>Kumo no Makoto  
>Biskoff<br>Korraganitar the NightShadow  
>NightInk<br>Lazruth  
>ragnrock kyuubi<br>SpiritWriterXXX  
>Ace6151<br>FleeingReality  
>Harufu<br>Exiled crow  
>Slifer1988<br>Dee Laynter  
>Angeldoctor<br>Final Black Getsuga  
>ZamielRaizunto<br>Fenris187  
>blood enraged<br>arashiXnoXkami  
>tstoldt<br>Mystic 6 tailed Naruto  
>ElementalMaster16<br>Dark Vizard447  
>Darth Void Sage of the Force<br>Shiso no Kitsune  
>The Sinful<br>Kage640  
>Ihateheroes<br>swords of twilight  
>Kyuubi16<br>darthkamon  
>narutodragon<br>bunji the wolf  
>Cjonwalrus<br>Killjoy3000  
>blueexorist<br>White Whiskey  
>Ying the Nine Tail Fox<br>Gin of the wicked smile  
>tstoldt<br>The wolf god Fenri  
>JazzyJ09<br>sleepers4u  
>The Unknown 007<br>Gallantmon228  
>MKTerra<br>Gunbladez19  
>Forgottenkami<br>RHatch89  
>SoulKingonCrack<br>Dreadman75  
>Knives91<br>The Lemon Sage  
>Dark Spidey<br>VioletTragedies  
>Eon The Cat of Shadows<br>kazikamikaze24  
>animegamemaster6<br>LLOYDROCKS  
>demented-squirrel<br>swords of dawn  
>The Immoral Flame<br>blueexorist  
>Challenger<br>Shywhitefox  
>drp83<br>Bethrezen  
>Dragon6<br>bellxross  
>unweymexicano<br>The First Kitsukage  
>kingdom219<br>brown phantom  
>littleking9512<br>kurokamiDG  
>Auumaan<br>FrancineBlossom  
>BDG420<br>Her Dark Poet  
>bloodrosepsycho<br>Shen an Calhar  
>NarutoMasterSage4040<br>Masamune X23  
>Kuromoki<br>Sliver Lynx  
>devilzxknight86<br>Unis Crimson  
>Zero X Limit<p>

reven228  
>JAKdaRIPPER<br>Third Fang  
>IRAssault<br>Grumpywinter  
>absolutezero001<br>Single Silver Eye  
>animekingmike<br>Daniel Lynx  
>zerohour20xx<br>Darth Drafter  
>arturus<br>Iseal  
>Shisarakage<br>Uzunaru999  
>Dark-Knight<br>fearme80  
>Devilsummoner666<br>slicerness  
>Toa Naruto<br>Soleneus  
>kagedoragon<br>dansama92  
>KamenRiderNexus<br>Captive Crimson  
>KyuubiiLover27<br>MozillaEverer  
>4rm36uy<br>ebm6969  
>Repiece<br>phantomshadowdragon  
>Colonel Eagle<br>Timothy1988  
>ShadowZenith<br>awsm125  
>The Purple Critic<br>Darkepyon  
>Zombyra<br>brickster409  
>ChaosSonic1<br>Leaf Ranger  
>SoulEmbrace2010<br>Oni Shin  
>Silverknight17<br>Specter637  
>HunterBerserkerWolf<br>shadow-red0  
>The Roaming Shadow<br>bucketbot  
>AvalonNakamura<br>Avacii  
>Maxwell Gray<br>Silvdra-zero  
>Arashi walker<br>Lord of Daemons  
>Lord Anime<br>CloudRed1988  
>forestscout<br>The Lost Mana  
>Red Warrior of Light<br>TUAOA MORRISTOFOX  
>Mr. Alaska<br>Swagnilla-Ice-1985  
>MugetsuIchigo<br>bloodlust002  
>Nerverean<br>Kage Biju  
>JK10<br>OBSERVER01  
>MistressWinowyll<br>Count Kulalu  
>ronin504<br>ted009  
>Ralmidaz<br>lederra

Time Hollow

fg7dragon

chaosthesith89

DanteSparda894

bellxross


	4. Chapter 3 Training Turmoil

The New Spirit Samurai

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any of the sources I intend to use in this story. They belong to their respective owners, and will receive their shout out when they appear.

"Speech"

'Thought'

"Technique/Jutsu"

"**Demon/Boss Summon/Zanpakuto Speech**"

"_Deity Speech_"

"_**Inner Hollow Speech**_"

Chapter 2: Training Turmoil.

Eight year old Uzumaki Naruto stood across from his opponent, panting heavily, trying to blink the sweat and blood that was dripping down his face out of his eyes, while tightly gripping his sword in both hands. Garbing his form was a standard training outfit that had been provided to him by his sensei, which consisted of a blue shitagi with a white kosode that had blue stripes on the sleeves over this, and a pair of blue hakama covering his legs. Though, the clothes were in a tattered condition, the sleeve on Naruto's right arm slashed almost completely through with a matching wound on his flesh, while the dirt was present of plenty of his clothing, meaning he had been subject to many ground inducing attacks. Also, it would be interesting to point out that the sleeve of his entire left side, as well as part of the chest are had been completely destroyed, looking as though it had been burnt away by some strange attack.

Standing across from him, looking as clean and pristine as when they had started their match, was Naruto's sensei, Himura-Uzumaki Kenshin, who was holding his own blade in the right hand.

"You've improved significantly, Naruto-kun, but you still have a ways to go." Kenshin said, which was returned by Naruto via a small smile.

Instead of a verbal answer, Naruto tried for an attack, which was rushing toward Kenshin at an impressive speed, faster than just any normal eight-year olds could muster. Seeing the overhead strike coming toward him, Kenshin twisted his sword and blocked the incoming attack, while also managing to take a step back to avoid the spin kick. Taking the offensive, Kenshin went for a horizontal slash, which Naruto managed to block, albeit barely, but he was unprepared for the powerful kick from his sensei. Feeling as though his ribs had been cracked, which they probably were, Naruto was launched to sideways away from Kenshin, who had shifted his sword into a reverse grip in his left hand, while his right hand was raised, and a single finger pointed at Naruto.

"Hado no Yon: Byakurai." Kenshin intoned, while at those words, a blast of pale white lightning flew from his fingertip, aimed directly at Naruto. Using what strength he could, Naruto managed to plant his feet into the ground, and seemingly vanished, letting the attack sail through open air. "Hm, well, I see he's improved on his Shunpo." Kenshin said, while side-stepping to avoid the overhead slash from behind, compliments of his student. Taking advantage of Naruto's momentary distraction, Kenshin shifted his body to the side of Naruto's, his foot planted on the sword that had impacted the ground and his blade under the blonde's chin, which caused Naruto to mentally curse.

"Looks like I lose again." Naruto commented, before Kenshin removed his sword from Naruto's throat and held out his hand, which the blonde took to regain his footing.

"As I have said before, you have been improving as the years go by." Kenshin said, trying to placate his young student and let him know that he was making progress. "But, you can't expect yourself to achieve a mastery of your abilities in a short time. The Shinigami powers of the Uzumaki clan are some of the most advanced techniques in the world to date, and as such, are equally as difficult to master."

"I understand, Kenshin-sensei, and I don't intend to let this get me down." Naruto replied, which got him a smile from his sensei, who knew the young blonde would grow up to be a fine member of the Uzumaki clan.

"So, I see that your Shunpo abilities have been excelling at a remarkable rate." Kenshin idly commented, while he and Naruto walked back to the Namikaze compound, where they both knew Kushina would be waiting to help address the damage to her son.

"I'm not sure why, but for some reason, Shunpo just comes naturally to me." Naruto responded, while mentally wondering why that was. "I've been working on my Reiryoku control, but I'm still finding my power to be a little erratic." Naruto admitted.

"That happens with all of our clan, but I think I know something to help with that." Kenshin said, while noticing that Naruto was giving him a confused look. "I'll need a few days to prepare for this event, but I'll guarantee that three days from now, you'll have a much easier time handling your powers than you ever did before."

"Yatta!" Naruto called out, while clenching his fist in determination.

"But…I need to make sure of something first." Kenshin said, stopping in his walk, which stopped Naruto as well, while the red-head kneeled down to be face to face with his pupil. "What I have in store could potentially be dangerous, even life threatening if it goes the wrong way. I want to know right now if you will put your life on the line to finish this training."

After a few minutes of silence, during which Naruto never once broke eye contact with Kenshin, the young blonde finally answered. "I've never backed down from anything you've taught me before, and I don't intend to start now."

"Good." Kenshin said, before rising to his feet and continuing his walk to their home, Naruto hot on his heels.

(Hokage's Office)

"So he's still training my son in that unusual style?" Minato asked the person standing before him, which was in this case the same silver-haired, dog-masked ANBU that had helped with the investigation on the attempted kidnapping of the Yondaime's son.

"Yes, and from what the man has been saying, Naruto seems to be getting a better grasp of these abilities." The Inu masked ANBU replied, while seeing his leader nod his head.

"What have you been able to gauge from their training?" Minato asked, but he saw the man's shoulders slump.

"Nothing." Inu replied, which confused the Hokage severally.

"Have you been using your Sharingan to monitor them, Kakashi?" Minato questioned, but upon seeing the man nod, he began to become worried about this. "So why haven't you been able to uncover anything?"

"I've been using my Sharingan every time you've had me observe them, Minato-sensei, but each and every time, I haven't been able to learn anything." Kakashi responded, further confusing the Hokage. "It's almost as if their abilities don't involve chakra at all."

"Damn." Minato said, while rubbing the bridge of his nose to try and stave off the headache he knew was going to be coming soon. "I knew I should have refused Kushina's idea to have that brother of hers teach Naruto anything."

The same day after Kenshin had arrived in Konoha, and Minato had finished his meeting with the Three Councils of Konoha and the visiting Kumo delegate, Kushina had sprung the idea of Kenshin training Naruto on him. At the time, he had thought about it as a way of pushing Naruto's training and needs onto another person, so that Minato, as well as several Jounin of his choosing, could focus entirely on Natsuki. Minato had been so sure at the time that nothing this new person, who had been announced to him as Kushina's older brother, could teach Naruto would allow the boy to equal his sister, but now, Minato was second guessing this.

"But, I do have some good news, Minato-sensei." Kakashi replied, while moving his ANBU mask to the side of his head, showing his face was covered from the nose down by a blue face mask, while his Konoha hitai-ate was slanted down to cover his left eye. Seeing he had his former sensei's full attention, Kakashi continued speaking. "I was able to glance part of the conversation between the two of them, and Naruto admitted to having some problems controlling this strange power they call Reiryoku."

"So my son hasn't fully mastered his abilities yet, huh?" Minato said, while his face held a cruel smirk, while mentally dodging the fact that his daughter, who was supposed to be able to handle the full capacity of the Kyuubi's mighty power, was also failing miserably at attaining mastery of it. Oh, sure, she had managed to draw upon the Kyuubi's power on a few occasions, but each time had been a situation where Natsuki had been angered by something minor, and she was showing no progress at understanding how to consciously draw on it.

"Yes, but it seems this Kenshin person has something in mind to help Naruto learn how to control his power at a faster rate." Kakashi continued, causing Minato to jerk his head up in shock at this. "He said he would need three days to prepare for this unknown something, and he declared that, I quote, Naruto would have a much easier time handling his powers, end quote."

"Three days?" Minato repeated back, which caused Kakashi to nod his head in confirmation. "Well, I don't think we can have that. There is already too much attention on the boy as is, and any more will certainly give me problems."

"Minato-sensei, are the councils still pushing to have Naruto banned from the Shinobi program?" Kakashi suddenly asked, since over the past eight years, there had been many fireworks from the councils about Naruto's status in Konoha, and it was only because of Kushina's friends on the Clan Head council that she could protect the boy.

"Not only that, but they are still pushing to have him thrown in ANBU lock-up for life, and it's only because of the support of the Inuzuka and Uchiha clan's that neither order has passed." Minato replied, to which Kakashi nodded his head in understanding. It had been common knowledge in the village that Kushina's best friends, Inuzuka Tsume, head of the Inuzuka clan, and Uchiha Mikoto, who had taken over the clan after her husband died just under a year ago.

It had been recorded in Konoha's records that Uchiha Fugaku, as well as the majority of the Uchiha Head Council, had been killed in a single night by one Uchiha Itachi, who had then deserted the village that same night. But, what the main populous didn't know was that Itachi had killed the group in question under the orders of the Yondaime Hokage, though the order had been shifted quite a bit. Originally, the Yondaime had ordered Itachi to execute every single member of the clan, mainly because Minato's distrust existed with the entire clan, not just the rebellious portion, but Itachi had decided to play a different game. After removing the dangerous portion of his now former clan, Itachi had left Konoha, heading toward the capital of Fire Country to speak with the Fire Daimyo in person. Thanks to this, Itachi was able to convince the Fire Daimyo to cover for the remnants of the Uchiha clan, which was mostly put through because of the fact that Itachi's former teacher, Kushina, had been a life-long friend to the Fire Daimyo.

"Minato-sensei…" Kakashi began, and after seeing he had Minato's attention, he continued. "I might have a suggestion. I say we let this Kenshin keep training Naruto."

"And risk the boy becoming too powerful to control?" Minato replied hotly, but Kakashi waved his hands in a placating manner.

"Wait, I'm not finished." Kakashi quickly said, which had the desired effect of calming his former sensei down enough to let him finish speaking without fear of the man's KI. "I'm saying, for the time being, we let it go on like normal. But, if it turns out that these abilities are too 'dangerous' for Naruto to control, then you could step in and have a legitimate reason to seal the powers and defuse the situation altogether." Kakashi elaborated, while he put a large amount emphasis on the term 'dangerous'.

"Hm…" Minato said, while putting his hand to his chin in thought. "Yes, that could work. But, there is the problem of Kushina and Kenshin managing to possibly unseal these abilities."

"Well, Kushina-san, we don't have to inform her about your motives, we could just say that Naruto was on the verge of injuring himself quite severally, and you did it to save his life." Kakashi explained, while Minato nodded his head. "As for that man Kenshin, if the powers he is teaching Naruto to control are a hazard to the boy's health, we can use that excuse to banish him from the village, which the Civilian council will agree with."

"Very true." Minato said, while mentally going over that plan in his head. In the best case scenario, this plan could actually work to remove the threat of Naruto becoming more powerful than either himself or his daughter, while also getting rid of the source behind this whole situation. But, there was the potential that this idea could have a nasty backlash, but Minato was more focusing on the fact that he liked the plan more and more with each passing moment. "Alright, we'll allow Kenshin to perform whatever it is he's planning, and we'll give it between 6 to 12 months. We'll know by then if we will remove this problem once and for all."

"As you order, Hokage-sama." Kakashi said, while bowing, before vanishing from the office in a poof of smoke.

(Three Days Later, Naruto's Training Ground)

"Alright, it's been three days, and like I promised you, I've prepared everything to help you proceed on mastering your abilities." Kenshin said, while he stood before Naruto. Naruto, himself, was now wearing a pair of black shorts that reached to just below his knees and a blood red t-shirt, but he was looking rather nervous at the area surrounding them. Kenshin stood before Naruto, while behind the young blonde was a massive pit, which seemed to be around maybe 100 feet deep.

"Um…Kenshin-sensei, I don't mean to sound rude, but why does the training ground look like this?" Naruto asked, to which Kenshin smiled in response, but the smile did little to ease Naruto's worries; in fact, it just made the blonde even more nervous.

"This is how we will unlock your true Shinigami powers." Kenshin said, while putting his right hand onto the tsuba of his blade. Before Naruto could react to this, Kenshin had drawn the blade from its sheath, the butt of his katana driving directly into Naruto's forehead, which caused an unexpected effect. Instead of sending the blonde tumbling back from the impact, it seemed to pass through his body, while seemingly splitting Naruto into two separate forms. Naruto began to panic when he saw what he could only guess was his body lying on the ground, while a single silver chain that came out of his chest seemingly connected the two.

"What…what's going on?" Naruto managed to say, after finally getting over the shock of seeing his body lying on the ground, a single chain connecting them together.

"This is the same method that I went through to unlock my own dormant powers. Granted, after this is over, the special qualities our bloodline carry will allow you to use any of these powers in your physical body, it's much better to allow the spiritual body to undergo this training, since the powers originally come from the Soul, not the body." Kenshin said, as he once again approached his young student, while raising his blade upwards, before bringing it down on the chain attached to Naruto's chest, cleanly slicing through the metal like it was paper. "You've already begun wielding you Reiryoku, so we can skip the first stage of the process and move directly onto Stage Two."

Taking advantage of Naruto's momentary stunned silence, Kenshin shoved his palm into the blonde's chest, effectively pushing him backwards and into the deep pit behind him. Naruto didn't know how long it took for him to reach the bottom, but the impact came with the expected pain, effectively knocking the wind out of the young boy's body. After taking a few minutes to regain his breath, Naruto moved to try and rub his head to alleviate the pain, only to stop at the sudden realization that he couldn't move his arms. Whipping his head around, Naruto craned his neck to turn, while just noticing out of the corner of his eye that both his arms had been bound behind his back with what he could only guess were thick leather straps.

"Bakudo no Kyuu Jyuu Kyuu: Kin." Kenshin's voice rang out, drawing Naruto's attention to the source of it, which was standing on the opposite side of the pit from him, his expression grim. "This test will be rather simple. All you have to do is reach to top of this shaft in your current condition, before it's too late."

"What do you mean too late?" Naruto asked, as he pushed himself upwards to his knees. But, a sudden sound that he had not been expecting filled the air, something akin to a crunching sound, which drew the blonde's attention to the source, only for him to gape in shock. At the severed end of the chain that lead out from his chest, the broken link had seemingly grown mouths on it, and was beginning to devour the next link in the chain. "What is this?!" Naruto shouted out in panic.

"That's the corrosion." Kenshin responded, his tone never once changing from his normal monotone that he always seemed to take when they had their training. "As I've told you before, when a person dies, their soul leaves their body to become what is commonly known as a Plus. At this point, the soul could either pass on to the next world, or linger in this world. If they choose to linger, their Soul Chain will begin the slow process of corroding, until it disappears and turns them into a Hollow."

"So…that means…?" Naruto began, while looking down at the chain, which had returned to normal, allowing Naruto to rise slowly to his feet, his gaze now locked once again on his sensei.

"Correct, with your Soul Chain now broken, you will slowly become a hollow, unless you can unlock Shinigami powers of your own." Kenshin said, while seeing Naruto's eyes widen. "Usually, this process could take anywhere from several months to over a year, but this pit has a special vapor in it, which will speed up that process to make it take only 72 hours." At this point, Kenshin could only mentally smile at seeing that this news had the desired effect, namely Naruto's expression grew even more shocked, while the blonde gave his red-haired teacher a terrified expression. "So, as it stands, you have just 3 days to get out of this pit. If you can do this, you will be able to unlock your full Shinigami powers…but, if you are unable to perform this by the end of the time limit, I will have no choice but to destroy you myself."

Harsh realization overcame Naruto at this point, realization that this could potentially be his last few days alive. But, just as quickly as the feeling came, Naruto pushed the fear down, instead opting to use that emotion to fuel his desire to survive. Standing fully to his feet, Naruto took off running at the wall of the pit, managing to plant his first few steps, but after making a few feet off the ground, his footing slipped and he was sent crashing back to the ground.

"ITAI!" Naruto called out, while wincing at the pain, and wishing he could use his hand to massage the bump he could feel forming on the back of his skull.

"You'll need to do better than that, Naruto-kun." Kenshin said, his placement, stance and tone not having changed in the slightest since he last spoke.

Grunting in anger, Naruto stood back to his feet, and once again rushed the pit wall, fully intent on passing this portion of the test, no matter the cost.

(Some time later)

'Damn…I don't even know how long I've been at this.' Naruto thought, while noticing once again that the chain had come to life and was devouring the next segment behind it. 'I can't even move…not when the corrosion rears its head.' Finally, after a few more minutes, the chain had finished its meal, and returned to its normal look, allowing Naruto to regain his footing. 'Well, I guess that means I'll have to try extra hard to make it during the dormant phases.'

Planting his feet, Naruto once again ran at full speed to the pit wall, but like the last few times, he was met with a very painful failure.

"Well…it seems we are nearing the end of the training." Kenshin's voice suddenly rang out, reminding Naruto that he was down in the pit as well, which caused Naruto, who was still on his back from the most recent failure, to lift his gaze to his sensei.

"What do you mean? I'm not giving yet!" Naruto shouted out, while managing to roll onto his stomach.

"I'm not talking about you giving up; I'm saying you've run out of time." Kenshin said, while placing his left hand on the sheathe of his blade, while his right hand began ghosting to the hilt. "It's nearly been the full 72 hours since the test began."

"Yeah, but look." Naruto said, while raising himself to his knees, the Soul Chain whipping slightly from the sudden movement from its owner. "I've still got plenty of links left before I'm finished."

"Normally, that would be true…" Kenshin began, while his narrowed eyes landed on Naruto, causing the young boy to flinch back from the force behind the glare. "But, the final encroachment is a little different than the ones before it."

Almost as if those words had been the signal, the entire length of chain still attached to Naruto's chest, which was around two feet or so, suddenly shifted. Every square inch of each link became a mouth, which began rapidly eating away at the rest of the metal, leading straight up to Naruto's chest, before it was consumed all together. There, in the direct center of Naruto's chest, where his Soul Chain had once been rooted to, now was a single black hole, as big as a softball.

(Namikaze Estates)

"Kushina-chan, I haven't seen Naruto-kun or Kenshin in a few days. Do you know what happened to them?" Minato's voice called out, which was heard by Kushina, who was in the backyard practicing with a new sword that he didn't know how she had gotten.

"Yes, Kenshin-onii-chan mentioned something about a special training session, and it would take a few days for it to complete." Kushina answered, while going through several of the old kata's that had been taught to her as a child by the Lady Mito, before the elderly woman had passed along.

"Maybe I should go and check on them." Minato suggested, but any attempt he might have made to leave the area was stopped, by a sudden sense of dread from behind him. Turning his head, he saw Kushina was staring at him, her expression showing a calm smile, but the feeling he was getting from her was far more potent than any KI he had ever encountered.

"I'm sure they're fine, so just let them be." She said calmly, before resuming her training, while Minato just barely managed to drag himself back inside the house and to the bathroom to splash some much needed cold water on his face.

(Training Ground)

Naruto suddenly began screaming, as a sheer level of pain the likes of which he had never felt before overtook his body, so all he could feel was the agony of it. After a short time, strange white liquid, as thick as grease, began gushing out of Naruto's opened mouth, as well as from his eyes, which was slowly but surely covering his face.

'It seems he does take after our ancestor in this regard.' Kenshin thought, while observing the strange transformation that Naruto was going through. 'With any other attempt I saw at our clan members taking this test, normally their body would be broken down and then rebuilt from scratch into another form. I've never seen a transformation where the mask begins forming while the person's body remains intact. If what my parents told us about the founder of our clan is true…' His gaze lifted back to Naruto's face, where the white substance had formed a strange mask like structure over top of his left eye and was slowly but surely spreading outwards from there.

(Naruto's mind)

"Eh…" Naruto suddenly said, realizing he was no longer in the pit he had been stuck in for such a long time, nor were his hands bound behind his back. Looking around, Naruto also noticed he was sitting on the side of a large building, far larger than anything that Konoha had to offer. Also, another thing that further confused the young blond was the fact that the entire surrounding environment was on a horizontal tilt. "Where is this?"

"**Over here.**" A new voice suddenly sounded, causing Naruto to whip his head around to look at the new source of the voice. It was a man, standing at about a solid 6 feet tall, with unkempt facial hair, and long ragged black hair. His clothes were tattered all black garbs with a long flowing overcoat that flares out into ragged ends, and narrow sunglasses on his face. He held his position of standing on a flagpole just a little ways further up the building than Naruto was, while his black colored eyes continued to stare down at Naruto.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked, while trying his best to ignore the piercing stare of this new man, while also idly wondering why this person seemed familiar to him.

"**Who…I guess I can't fault your lack of knowledge.**" The man commented, while either ignoring or not noticing Naruto's slightly annoyed expression at his comment. "**I've been with you since the day you were born, and I go by the name ********.**" Seeing that Naruto's expression was one of waiting, the new person mentally shook his head. "**I see…I suppose it's only natural that you are not ready to learn that just yet.**"

"Hey, just who are you?" Naruto shouted out, before noticing that the man's stance had shifted, now having him stand on the flagpole as if he were standing straight up.

"**You'd best think fast.**" The man said, before Naruto suddenly felt the will of gravity take place, pulling his off of the buildings side and straight down to the ground below, before he noticed the mysterious man floating along beside him. "**Thanks to that test you've been taking, you're on the verge of losing yourself to your own Hollow side. If you wish to remain alive after this is all said and done, you had best learn to harness your own Shinigami powers.**"

"But how do I do that?!" Naruto shouted, while noticing the ground was getting closer, even as he saw out of the corner of his eyes that the rest of the world around them had begun crumbling away.

"**You already have the potential to unlock this power, you just need to find it.**" The man said, even as Naruto suddenly hit the bottom of the tower, but instead of cold pavement meeting his back, Naruto was shocked when the surface allowed him pass through, almost as if it was water. "**You're power lies within you. You must locate where your power is before it's too late.**"

'Within me?' Naruto thought, while he noticed that the surroundings had been crumbling into strange boxes, all of them the exact size and shape as each other.

"**Out of these millions of boxes, only one of them contains my true self and your dormant Shinigami powers. You must choose the right one, before this world fully dissolves away, or else you will not survive this test.**" The man finished.

'But…how can I find the one box out of all these?' Naruto thought, before he began to panic at the notion of losing himself should he choose wrong. 'Wait…didn't Kenshin-sensei say how to locate different Reiryoku users before?' Naruto suddenly recalled, and after a little mental digging, the memory resurfaced in his head. 'Yes, he said that for each being out there that can use Reiryoku, they have a strange Reiraku to show for it. But what color did he say that Shinigami had?'

'**He doesn't have much time left.**' Were the thoughts of the unknown man, while he noticed Naruto's features showed a look of pure concentration.

"Red!" Naruto suddenly called out, as he found his body surrounded by hundreds of white threads, each one leading to a different box in the area. But, one stuck out in particular, since the color of the thread was a deep crimson red in color. Seeing his target, Naruto managed to reach out and grab that particular thread, which he then quickly pulled on, showing the box it was connected to as well as opening the lid. There, in the seemingly endless darkness of the box, was the handle of a katana, with a bronze hilt on the end.

"**Good, now pull me out already!**" At these words, Naruto grasped the hilt and as he began to pull on the sword, he turned to the still unknown person that was right beside him.

'Could… he really be…?' Naruto's thoughts were cut off, since the moment he gripped the sword and gave his first tug, his vision became blinded by a bright flash of light.

(Real World)

'It's been too long.' Kenshin thought, while seeing the white material had managed to cover the entirety of Naruto's face, showing the finished work to be a narrow skull shaped mask with two red stripes on the left side of the forehead. 'I'm sorry Kushina-chan, but I have no choice.'

Gripping his katana, Kenshin lifted the blade into the air, intent on ending the suffering of his student before it fully began. But, as he was about to make the strike, he notice a sudden change in Naruto's form, namely of the blonde managing to snap part of the bonds holding his arms.

'Wait…something is off.' Kenshin suddenly realized for the second time that Naruto's appearance was starting to change, namely by the strange flow of Reiryoku now coming off of the boy. Realizing that something was about to happen, Kenshin used a quick Shunpo to exit the pit, and a split-second later, a huge blast of Reiryoku erupted from the pit, launching skyward like a geyser. "He's done it."

As the smoke began to settle down, Kenshin saw a figure off a short ways, and after a short time, it turned out to be the exact size of Naruto. Once the smoke had cleared completely, it revealed itself to be Naruto himself, but there were some noticeable differences.

Garbing his body was the standard Shinigami attire, a white shitagi, a black kosode, a pair of black hakama, a white hakama-himo, while white tabi, and waraji covered his feet. Also, strapped to Naruto's back was a large brown sheath holding an equally massive katana, the hilt of it resting just over Naruto's right shoulder, while a brown strap held the sword in place. But, the most noticeable feature about the young blonde was the strange white mask covering his face, which was in the same form as the Hollow mask that was on his face only a moment ago.

"Well, it looks like I may have spoken too soon." Kenshin commented to himself, before he saw Naruto's right hand lift up to the hilt of his katana, which was pulled from upwards, the sheath vanishing from his back as he pulled. Shifting his hand slightly, Naruto took the massive blade, which was easily as tall as he was, into a reverse grip, before driving the butt of the hilt into the mask, cracking it in a manner similar to ceramic. Lowering the Zanpakuto downwards, and using his left hand, Naruto pried the remains off of his face before dropping the mask to the ground, revealing his face to Kenshin, who noted that while the blonde looked strong, there was a hidden level of exhaustion. "Congratulations on passing, Naruto-kun."

"Yeah…" Naruto began, while trying to take a step toward his sensei, but he noticed his vision beginning to swim. "Thanks…" At this point, Naruto dropped to his knees, his eyes drooping closed as the fatigue from this whole ordeal was finally taking over him. "Kenshin-sensei." Naruto suddenly fell forward, and he would have impacted the hard ground, had Kenshin not been there to catch the young boy before he hit.

'Heh, well I guess you can sleep this off, Naruto-kun.' Kenshin thought, while resheathing the young boy's Zanpakuto, before carrying the blonde back to his body. Taking a moment, Kenshin lowered Naruto's form in his arms to his still body on the ground, letting the two merge once again, before picking up the blonde once again and heading back to his Imouto's compound.

(Later, Namikaze Compound)

"So he succeeded?" Kushina asked, having checked Naruto over once Kenshin had brought him back, and afterwards, sat down to discuss what had happened with Kenshin.

"Yes, but it was slightly different." Kenshin said, instantly catching Kushina's full attention. "Normally, when a Plus soul is turning into a Hollow, they go through a specific series of steps before the change is complete. But, in Naruto's case, it was completely out of order than the normal way. It almost reminded me of the stories our parents used to tell me."

"About the clan's founder?" Kushina asked. After hearing from Kenshin what he had intended to do to have Naruto gain his Zanpakuto, Kushina had been less than thrilled. In fact, you could say she was downright pissed off, having gripped Kenshin by the front of his kimono and nearly screaming at him for even suggesting that idea. But, she had relented slightly, when Kenshin had informed her that it was the only known method of gaining a Zanpakuto and tapping into the full potential of Naruto's Shinigami powers. Kushina had been able to unleash her own Zanpakuto, but it was mostly because of her strangely unique aura, possibly having to do with her being the former vessel of the Kyuubi.

"Yes, it has been said through the tale that the founder of our clan used this same method to gain his own Shinigami powers, and in doing so, went through the same transition that Naruto himself went through." Kenshin said, causing Kushina to gape in shock. "No one alive knows the full details, but it has been said that thanks to this event, the clan's founder was exponentially stronger than any before him."

"So what does that mean?" Kushina asked, while her gaze went towards the stairs leading to Naruto's room, where the young blonde in question was sleeping to regain his lost energy.

"I'll continue instructing him in the ways of our clan, which will be going along much smoother now thanks to this." Kenshin said.

(Hokage's Office)

"So they're finished?" Minato asked, seeing several ANBU with varying masks around him.

"Hai, Hokage-sama. Just under an hour ago to be precise." One ANBU, this one with a Goat mask, answered. "Unfortunately, there was some kind of strange security seals in place, which prevented us from approaching too close. So we weren't able to find out any details about what they did."

"Well, if that man really is from the Uzumaki clan, that is to be expected." Minato conceded. "Keep monitoring the two of them, and inform me of any changes to their training immediately."

"Hai, Hokage-sama!" The ANBU chorused, before they all vanished in poofs of smoke.

(Time Skip, One Year)

"Hado no San Jyuu Ni: Okasen!" Naruto called out, as a blast of yellow electricity lanced out from his Zanpakuto, which was being held horizontally. The electricity continued traveling for a short distance, before impacting one of the training dummies in the area and reducing it, as well as the other dummies around it, to a charcoaled husk. "Next! Hado no Yon: Byakurai!" A single blast of pale white electricity flew from Naruto's index finger, this time aimed at one of the many trees surrounding him, piercing through one tree and continuing on through another dozen or so.

"Alright, I think I've gotten the hang of this a little more." Naruto said, his expression akin to satisfaction.

"Very good, Naruto-kun, you've been progressing very fast." Kenshin said, was he walked up from behind the blonde while clapping his hands in a show of acknowledgement of Naruto's development.

"Arigatou, Kenshin-sensei." Naruto said, while bowing his head in gratitude to the man that had helped him learn so much in the past years.

"I just came to inform you that I have some things to take care of with your mother outside the village. Both of us will be gone for a few hours, so you can have that time to either train by yourself or just relax until we return." Kenshin said, getting a nod of understanding from the blonde.

"Hai, I'll try some solo training for now. Maybe I can finally unlock my Zanpakuto." Naruto said, while nodding his head toward the sheathed form of his combat partner. It had been closing in on a year since the ceremony that had given Naruto his Zanpakuto, and his subsequent increase in skill with the Shinigami arts. But, sadly, there had been some downsides, since during that entire time, Naruto had yet to learn the name of his Zanpakuto.

"I'm sure you'll get it with time, but just remember, there is now rush to learn its name." Kenshin said, while patting the young boy on the head, and though some people might say he was giving him false hope, Kenshin knew that it would only be a matter of time before the blonde would unlock his partner. "Well, I'll leave you to it."

(Several hours later)

It had been a good day of training for Naruto, having been able to review his total Kido spells, as well as get in some Kenjutsu practice. However, it was rapidly turning from day to night, as the sun had just begun to set in the distance, so the young blonde had decided to call it a day.

"Ha…well, I'll call it quits for now, and head on home." Naruto said, while pulling his Zanpakuto from the ground where he had used it to drop to his knee to catch his breath without falling over.

As the blonde stood to his feet, he went to place his sword back into its sheathe, but his actions were halted by several presences that he had been ignoring until that time. Almost immediately, faster than most ninja could react, four ANBU members surrounded Naruto, two of them grabbing an arm each, one wrapping an arm around his neck, while the fourth had grab hold of his Zanpakuto.

"Heh, this gaki was sure easy to capture." The ANBU holding Naruto's neck, with a falcon mask on his face said, while squeezing a little tighter and receiving a slight grunt of pain from his captive in response.

"Easy there, Taka, we don't want you hurting him…too much." The ANBU holding Naruto's left arm, this one wearing an Ox style mask, said, while getting a tighter grip on Naruto's arm when the blonde tried to pull away.

"Yes, Oushi, I do think you four should hold off on that." A new voice said which caused Naruto's eyes to widen in shock at its presence. Lifting his head, Naruto felt shock completely overtake his system when he saw his father, the Yondaime Hokage, in his full battle ready gear, his famous trench coat that marked his as the legendary Konoha no Kiiroi Senko on his covering his outfit.

"Tou…Tou-san…?" Naruto said, his tone something akin to questioning, since he was surprised to see the man there.

"Oh, Naruto-kun, it's such a shame that these powers are such a danger to you." Minato said, his voice holding a mocking tone to it, before he nodded his head to the three ANBU holding Naruto back. As one, the three of them shoved Naruto to the ground, and then placed a foot each on one of Naruto's arms and his back.

"What…" Naruto began, only to wince in pain from the ANBU with his foot on his back currently digging his heel into his spin, while softly chuckling at it. "What do you mean danger? I'm fine."

CRACK

Naruto's head jerked to the side, compliments of the fourth ANBU, this with a dog mask on his face, who had taken the current positions to smash his foot into the side of Naruto's face.

"Don't you dare disagree with Hokage-sama." The ANBU snarled, while reaching to draw his ninjato from his back, but a hand motion from Minato stopped him.

"Kakashi, there's no need to go that far…not yet anyway." Minato said, before he held out his hand, which caused Kakashi to hand Naruto's Zanpakuto, which he had removed from the younger blonde's hand, to the Yondaime. "Oh, and if this isn't such fine craftsmanship, I bet your sensei must have spent a pretty penny to get it." Minato said amusedly, while mentally pondering how Naruto was able to lift such a heavy blade, much less use it as easily as he had been, since he was having trouble even holding it.

"Hey, give that back!" Naruto called out, while managing to pull his right arm free from the ANBU holding it, and trying to reach for the Zanpakuto. This attempt was stopped, however, by the ANBU identified as Kakashi, who had fully drawn his own blade, and used it to pierce Naruto's hand, as well as the ground. Naruto, for his part, did well to hide the pain he was feeling, and the only sign that he had felt the strike was the small pained grunt that he gave out.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, such a naughty little boy you are." Minato chided, while smirking at the blade in his hands. "Well, if this sword means so much to you…" Minato began, while holding the sword out with his left hand, like he was offering it to Naruto, which surprised the ANBU. But, to the pure shock of Naruto, and the satisfaction of the ANBU, Minato the powered up an over-charged Rasengan with his right hand and smashed it into the blade. It took a few seconds or so, but then Minato smirked in satisfaction of the Rasengan having the desired effect on its target.

The Zanpakuto in his hands snapped in two, the majority of the blade falling and impaling the ground, while Minato continued holding the handle and what part of the blade was attached to it. Giving off a cruel chuckle, Minato dropped the remainder of the blade in his hands, before kicking it away to land a good twenty feet or so away.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I do that?" Minato asked petulantly, while seeing Naruto's shocked expression hadn't lessened at all. "Well, this is what you get for trying to show up my prodigy of a daughter." Minato continued, while strutting forward, and placing his foot on top of Naruto's head, and adding some pressure. "Now, all I have to do is seal your powers away, and you'll be back to where you should be, at my feet being the weak little brat you should be."

"Oh, Minato-sensei, I think you hurt his feelings." Kakashi commented, while pulling his blade out of Naruto's hand, the younger blonde not even reacting in the slightest, his head still gazing down at the ground where the majority of his Zanpakuto's blade had impaled the earth.

"Well, I know just the way to make him feel better." Minato commented, while nodding his head to Taka, who nodded in understanding, and drew his foot back to drive it into Naruto's back. Suddenly, all movement was stopped, not by the Yondaime, but by a new sound, one that none of the five standing individuals in the clearing were expecting.

It was laughter, a high-pitched laughter, that gave off a huge amount of cruelty, which was even more potent than a roar from the Kyuubi no Yoko.

"_**HAHAHAHAHAHA!**_" The new voice continued to laugh, causing unexpected shivers to run through the ANBU and Yondaime, who finally realized that the source of the laughter was the young blonde that was pinned on the ground.

"What…what's going on?!" Minato yelled, only to suddenly drop to his knees as a strange and unexpected pressure quickly slammed down onto the clearing, while the ANBU were sent crashing fully to the ground.

"_**I really need to thank you for this.**_" The voice said, which it turned out was coming from Naruto, if his rising form was anything to go by, while his head continued to remain lowered. "_**Thanks to you, I can have my fun now!**_"

"What are you?" Minato asked fearfully, while feeling a terror rise up from within him that was even more potent than the time he had tried to battle the Kyuubi no Yoko.

"_**I'm the other half of your boy.**_" 'Naruto' said, while lifting his head upwards, shocking the Yondaime with the fact that a strange white mask had suddenly appeared on the right side of Naruto's face. But the fact that really scared the older blonde was the fact that Naruto's eye under the mask had changed from its normal sky-blue to a pure yellow, while the other unmasked eye now had a black sclera with a golden-yellow pupil. "_**And thanks to you, I'm able to come out and play!**_"

No sooner had those words left 'Naruto's' mouth, the pressure suddenly vanished, and before Minato could even react, Naruto had suddenly vanished, reappearing with his foot already in motion. The kick packed enough force to smash the Yondaime sideways, crashing through countless trees, before he finally came to a painful stop by one of the few rock outcroppings in the area.

"YONDAIME-SAMA!" Taka called out, while managing to rise to his feet. Pulling his ninjato out, Taka rushed the still form of 'Naruto', intending to run the younger blonde through the stomach with the blade. His attacked sailed through the desired location, only for 'Naruto' to seemingly fade from view, and then reappear doing a handstand on the blade, before lashing out with a powerful downward kick, sending Taka face-first into the ground, the crater from the attack spreading out a good 10 feet wide.

Ducking under another attack, 'Naruto' spun his body, knocking the legs out from under Oushi, before rising upwards and driving his fist into the man's chest, the resounding multiple cracks acting like music to the masked blonde's ears. Flinging himself backwards, 'Naruto' drove his elbow into the third ANBU's, the one wearing the goat mask, face, his nose crushing inwards and shooting off a huge amount of blood. Spinning again, 'Naruto' smashed his leg into the side of Yagi's face, sending him flying away.

Hoping to catch the dangerous blonde by surprise, Kakashi rushed in while his targets back was turned, his ninjato raised up, ready to cleave the blonde in two. But, his attempt was stopped, when 'Naruto' merely raised his left hand, catching the blade between his index and middle fingers with the most simple of ease without even looking at his would-be attacker. Turning his head slightly, 'Naruto' regarded Kakashi with his mask covered eye, which caused the silver-haired ANBU to begin trembling in fear. His fear was soon realized, when 'Naruto' spun his body upwards, smashing his foot into Kakashi's head, causing him to reel back from the impact.

'Naruto' took this opening and spun his still airborne body, driving his heel into Kakashi's cheek, launching him off as well. His flight was stopped, by the same person who had sent him on it, when 'Naruto' appeared in his path, before raising his joined hands and smashing Kakashi down into the ground.

"_**Hahahahaha.**_" 'Naruto' chuckled cruelly, while lifting the barely conscious form of Kakashi up to look him in the ANBU's now visible face. "_**I still need to pay you back for those two cheap shots you got earlier.**_" Pulling his hand back, 'Naruto' clenched it into a fist and sent it right at Kakashi's unguarded face, fully intending to smash the silver-haired man's face in. Kakashi, for his part, felt his eyes involuntarily close, knowing that an attack of that magnitude from that distance would be fatal. "_**Hey, why are you interfering with me!?**_"

Kakashi managed to open his one uncovered eye to see that 'Naruto's' punch had been stopped, by none other than Himura Kenshin.

"I thought I had sensed a strange Reiatsu when I entered the village." Kenshin commented, while twisting 'Naruto's arm and managing to put the smaller fighter into a hold.

"_**You've got some nerve.**_" 'Naruto', while releasing his hold on Kakashi and swinging his left leg up to Kenshin's head, which was soundly blocked by the red-head.

'This strength…Naruto, you really are progressing along.' Kenshin thought, before he sensed another arrival at the area, which turned out to be his sister, Kushina.

"Kenshin-onii-chan, what was the rush-WHAT HAPPENED HERE?!" Kushina began, only to scream in shock at the sight of four decimated ANBU members, while seeing her husband dragging himself back to the clearing.

"Kushina-chan, get me Naruto's sword!" Kenshin called out, while dodging or blocking the attacks sent at him, which were holding much more power than Kenshin had thought they could.

"Right." Kushina called out, while quickly searching the nearby area. She felt her eyes widen in shock when she saw the bulk of the blade impaled into the ground, while she also saw the handle and a small amount of blade off to the side. "Kenshin, the sword, its broken!" Kushina screamed.

"That doesn't matter, just bring the hilt!" He called back, while ducking under a spin kick, and using the small opening, grabbed 'Naruto's' shirt and smashed him into his back onto the ground. Lifting his hand, Kenshin caught the tossed hilt of Naruto's now destroyed Zanpakuto, before stabbing what was left of the blade into 'Naruto's' face, cracking the mask and effectively distracting the young blonde, who now had his white mask covering a little over half his face.

"You're acting no better than a cornered animal. No challenge." Kenshin said, while applying pressure to the sword, causing 'Naruto' to tense suddenly from the action. Finally, Kenshin was happy to see that his idea had the desired effect, namely Naruto's eyes slowly began to bleed back to their normal color, while the mask began slowly chipping and falling away.

"K…Kenshin-…sensei?" Naruto managed to gasp out after the mask had completely broken away, before he passed out.

"NARUTO-KUN!" Kushina said, while dropping to her knees and checking for a pulse on his neck. After finding one, she sighed in relief, before lifting her gaze to the new shadow that had fallen over them, which turned out to be Minato, who was glaring down at their son.

"Kushina, I'll ask you and your brother to step back from that dangerous monster." Minato said coldly, while using his good arm to grip one of his trademark tri-pronged kunai.

"Minato, I suggest you back off." Kushina said, while standing to her feet, and glaring at Minato, which he returned, or tried to, but his beaten and bloodied form was not really making him intimidating. "I don't know what happened here, but Naruto's injuries, as well as his broken sword clearly point to something fowl."

"He broke his sword during his training, which caused that transformation, and when I saw this, I rushed here with ANBU to try and detain him, only for him to attack in response." Minato lied easily, while trying to shift the blame.

"Then how do you explain the damage on his sword looking like the aftereffects of your Rasengan?" Kushina demanded, catching Minato off guard.

"Well…th-that's…" Minato tried to explain, but he soon found himself out of ideas to pitch.

"I figured as much." Kushina responded, while turning back to her older brother, who had carefully picked up Naruto and carried him and his damaged Zanpakuto back to the Namikaze compound. Minato could do nothing but stand there and glare at Kenshin's retreating form, while mentally debating on what to do next.

(One Week Later)

Groaning in pain, Naruto slowly managed to open his eyes, before noticing he was in his own room. Moving to try and sit up, Naruto felt himself wince in pain, before moving the sheets away from his body to see that his torso was covered with medical wraps. Pushing himself upwards as gently as he could, Naruto managed to situate himself with his back to the wall, before someone entered his room.

"Naruto-kun, I'm so glad you're awake." His mother said happily, while placing down the medical supplies she had in her hands, and once she had sat down on the edge of his bed, hugged her son to herself.

"Kaa-san…what happened?" Naruto asked.

"Well…while you were training, it would seem that your father did something to upset you, which unleashed…what Kenshin-onii-chan called your 'Inner Hollow'." Kushina replied. "After this, you went berserk, severally injuring three ANBU and your father, while killing a fourth, before Kenshin-onii-chan and myself arrived at the field and calmed you down."

"And you brought me back here to rest up afterwards?" Naruto guessed.

"That's right." Kushina answered.

"Hey…where is Kenshin-sensei?" Naruto asked, but his expression quickly began to downgrade when he saw his mother's sad face.

"It was decided by a majority vote of the Civilian council that my aniki, Uzumaki-Himura Kenshin, was a danger to the village for having taught you something they deemed uncontrollable." Kushina said, while Naruto's expression turned neutral. Seeing this, Kushina quickly tried to head off the blonde's supposed anger, but she was shocked by the next words from him.

"So he's gone?" Naruto asked, after a moment of silence, which he said in a rather restrained voice.

"Yes…I tried to claim this was a clan affair, saying he was a member of the Uzumaki clan, but the Civilian's declared that the Uzumaki's weren't an official clan of Konoha, and as such, Kenshin fell under Civilian classification." She said, while her own fist clenched in anger at the audacity of the Civilians.

"I'm gonna miss him." Naruto said suddenly, surprising Kushina once again with how he was taking this. "But, I won't forget anything he taught me. Or the last gift he helped me receive."

"Gift?" Kushina questioned.

"Yeah…kaa-san, you think you could help me out to the backyard?" Naruto asked, to which his mother nodded. Helping her son rise from the bed, she positioned it so that the brunt of Naruto's weight would be on her, stopping only for a moment to let him take up the still broken handle of his Zanpakuto.

(Namikaze Yard)

"Kenshin-sensei." Naruto said forlornly, his gaze looking down at his Zanpakuto. "You told me that someday, I would be able to harness the true powers of my Zanpakuto. And you were right." At this Naruto lifted his gaze to the lone sakura tree in the back yard, the place below its branches having been one of Kenshin's favorite spots for a cup of tea. "I promise you…all that you taught me will be put to good use, and I will use my power and my partner to carry out my dreams." Once again, Naruto's gaze returned to his broken blade. "How does that sound…Zangetsu?"

Almost instantly, a huge explosion of blue Reiryoku flooded the area, forcing Kushina to cover her face to block out the winds that were lashing around. This went on for several minutes, while Kushina could only marvel at how much Reiryoku Naruto was releasing from his body. Finally, after a few minutes had passed, the energy began to slowly taper off, before it stopped completely, revealing Naruto, but with a slight change.

He was once again dressed in his usual Shinigami outfit, but this time with two noticeable difference. The first being instead of a massive sheathe attached to his back with a brown strap going across his chest, he only had a strange red strap of cloth around his body, going from the right shoulder down to his left gut, and around his back. But the second change was the most easily seen of them since now in Naruto's hands, instead of a hilt and broken blade, was now a massive blade. Shaped like an oversized elegant cleaver with no guard or tsuba, the part that Naruto was holding was actually the cloth wrapped tang with some of the wrapping hanging from the end, while the blade was a black color with a silver edge.

"Naruto…what did you do?" Kushina asked, as she slowly approached her son, who turned to smile at her, his arm shifting slightly to rest the dull side of the massive blade on his shoulder.

"Kaa-san, allow me to formally introduce you to my Zanpakuto partner…Zangetsu." Naruto said, while smiling at the woman, who could only stare in shock.

**And that's the end of this chapter.**


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